Ohio State opens Big Ten play

Thursday

Dec 30, 2010 at 12:01 AMDec 30, 2010 at 6:02 PM

The Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines are warming up in Crisler Arena for their Big Ten opener.

No surprises in the starting lineup for Ohio State as Tayler Hill (sore back) and Samantha Prahalis (coach's decision) will open the game after sitting the first four minutes against Duquesne on Tuesday.

This is another telling night for the six-time defending champion Buckeyes, who have lost two in a row entering conference play. They haven't lost three in a row since the 2003-04 season when they dropped back-to-back-to-back games to Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State.

As memory serves me, that was Jess Davenport's freshman season. So time flies. Ohio State is 8-3. The Wolverines are 7-5 and playing the better brand of basketball lately. They upset then-No. 24 Boston College in Crisler just before Christmas.

The Wolverines haven't defeated the Buckeyes since the 1998-99 season, a losing streak of 14 games. Michigan played Ohio State to the final minute in both losses last season. The Buckeyes scored a combined five more points in the two games.

The Wolverines have one Ohio player, Hilliard Davidson's Carmen Reynolds. She is starting and is the team's second-leading scorer at 10.2 points per game. This is a scrappy, three-point shooting team. I'm looking for another close game.

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